Blind Dash
by QuickFlash
Summary: HYDRA has pulled back to collect themselves, prepping to attack the Avengers once again. This time they have three new weapons, a rogue HYDRA agent named 'Hellfire' and the Maximoff Twins. HYDRA plans to attack the Avengers from the inside, but first the three mutants have to work together to reach the inside before they can strike. Third in the Iron Heart Series!
1. Frozen

**A/N: Welcome back everyone! I didn't expect to get this story up and running so soon but one of my classes got cancelled today so I decided to write the prologue of Blind Dash. I am SERIOUSLY excited for this once since it seems to have been a long time coming. I had bad writer's block that almost stopped me permanently from writing Angel of Death. Thankfully I have a muse and a plot, so I'm ready to do this thing!**

**All right, so if you are a newcomer to this series, please STOP and READ at least ANGEL OF DEATH first. IRON HEART is the first in the series, so if you are liking what you see here and are a bit confused, I really recommend you start at the very beginning (a very good place to start.) **

**For my dedicated readers of Iron Heart and Angel of Death, I know you'll definitely have some questions afterwards so please feel free to PM me! I'm always willing to talk stories! I will answer a few obvious things in the additional author's note at the end. But please keep in mind that this is a prologue and some of the stuff won't make sense quite yet and I don't want to tell you about it until later in the story! Don't wanna spoil the fun! **

**As usual, please review! I love hearing from you guys! Your kind words make me happy and keep me going!**

**Thanks for clicking on the story and I hope you enjoy!**

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><p><span>Prologue<span>

Frozen

_"You say that I'm frozen, but what can I do?" -Within Temptation_

_"Hellfire..."_

I groaned inwardly as my consciousness pulled out of a foggy sleep.

_"Parker Perry, wake up..." _

I recognized the voice as one that belonged to a German native, the thick accent seeming ice-cold as my mind slowly became aware if its surroundings.

I started to become acutely aware of everything around me. I heard the rhythmic rattling of a squeaky fan above my head, I could hear the German breathing raggedly through his nose at my side. A fluorescent light dangling from a cheap wire hung above me, blinding my newborn sight. I kept my eyelids slammed shut. The room was chilly. I could feel the icy teeth of the wind spurting from the air conditioner, nipping relentlessly at my sensitive skin.

A whimper escaped my lips, the oxygen tearing at my raw throat. I ran my tongue over my chapped bottom lip so I could speak, but I was hindered by my parched mouth.

"Are you in need of water?" the German inquired in a forceful tone.

I hesitantly nodded and I felt a hand slip behind my head and pull me slightly upwards. I felt the cool lip of a metal cup settle roughly against my mouth, jarring my hypersensitive teeth in the process. I didn't complain. All I could think about was my need for hydration as I guzzled all I could handle in one gulp.

The German pulled away the cup before I was ready and abruptly let my head fall down on the bed once again.

My desire to open my eyes became clear after I had quenched my thirst, so I carefully cracked my lids open. I inhaled sharply as the harsh light seared my vision, but I wanted discover where I was so I waited out the temporary pain.

Gradually, the white light faded and I could see I was in a dank room, decorated with only a beeping heart monitor and a table with only a glass of water sitting atop it.

My eyes rolled over to the German. He face seemed sour and pinched, no expression on his features other severity. He appeared to have never truly laughed in his life. I noticed he wore a monocle over one eye as he regarded my being with little interest.

"Wh-where am I?" my voice sounding strange to my own ears.

Odd...not talking for so long must have made my voice sound different.

"You're in the recovery room in HYDRA headquarters," he responded easily, as if they weren't a corporation set on "cleansing" humanity.

Instantly, I lurched my body to the side to get away from him, "How the hell did I get here?! I thought-"

"You thought you died?" scoffed the man, "Of course not, Perry. Your mutation is far too complex and special to almost completely engulf your entire being in fire and not make it out alive."

"The temperature I reached would have killed anyone," I growled in return.

"It killed your mother and brother, but you are resilient to dying by flame," answered the man cooly, adjusting his monocle.

I looked to the side, the horrible memory of my brother's death coming to the forefront of my mind.

"Just think, if you were only a little smarter, you wouldn't have killed your brother. It's a shame, he was such a unique specimen...like yourself."

"You speak of us as if we were lab rats," I snarled.

"Oh, but you are. Now more than ever," the man said in return, looking at me pointedly.

"What are you talking about?" I snapped, glaring at him.

"You were coddled by your mother. She found favor in you more so than in your elder brother. For that, HYDRA couldn't touch you even though you belonged to us merely by being Patricia's son. Now, we can do whatever we please with you. We've made you a new man and in return, we do have a job for you to accomplish."

"What makes you think I'll do _anything_ for you?"

I was furious and I was growing tired of him beating around the bush. If he didn't get to the point soon, I was going to rip that monocle off him and use it to f-

"You have no choice in the matter, and neither do your new partners. You will do what we say."

The man stood up and moved to the foot of my bed, standing menacingly over me, "My name is Strucker, the new head of HYDRA. I've come upon something that has helped me get the help I need with little problems and no arguments from the people I choose to assist me."

I looked up at him, though inwardly terrified I was determined to keep a look of defiance upon my features. I decided to scare him in return, so I activated the thought in my mind to trigger my flame-channeling powers. I heard a strange whooshing sound that took the place of my fire abilities.

"What have you done to me?" I accused, looking sharply at Strucker.

"Don't fret. I have implanted a chip somewhere inside your body that will keep your abilities subdued until I say it's all right to use them. Now. the guards will come in and take you to your cell until tomorrow when we'll discuss the terms of our agreement," Strucker said, walking out of the room as two guards walked in.

I looked blankly out the door as the guard shoved me into a sitting position and linked my hands into some strange high-tech cuff with glowing blue tendrils embedded in the silver frame. As they locked it in, I glanced to the side to see myself in the mirror that hung lopsided on the wall.

I cried out in surprise as I leaned in close to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me.

My face was completely different. Gone were my young, gentle features, snub nose, silky brown hair and hazel eyes. Now, I had a squarer face, rounded nose, and a light dusting of freckles across my face. My eyes were dark brown, as was my hair that was still floppy, but thinner and curly. Vainly, I noted that I wasn't straight-up handsome like I was before either, but thank God I wasn't ugly

"Oh my God..." I breathed as the guards shoved me to stand up.

My confusion was offset as I stumbled on my weak legs as the guards dragged me out of the room. I spotted Strucker standing to the side, observing me as I passed.

"What did you do to me? Why don't I look like...like_ me_ anymore?!" I cried out, lunging my weak self at him to no avail.

I blinked at his slightly amused expression and thought again how strange my voice sounded. My voice was smoother, less gravelly than it was before, yet still deep. Why was I so different from my former self?

"We didn't have a hand in that, my friend. We merely applied medication necessary for your body to heal itself. Skin grafts were irrelevant, we discovered. Your body started to heal the moment we brought you back to the surgery room," Strucker responded, "Your own mutation did that to your body."

My mind flashed back to Patricia once mentioning that she thought the components of my abilities made it possible for me to reconstruct my features if I so desired because of the nature of my skills and my lineage. She'd said my father was a form of a skin-changer. She stated that it would be painful to achieve that goal since the process most likely involved practically destroying myself, so I never tried. My body must have automatically healed itself into a different form since I was burnt beyond recognition. It was almost like I regenerated with a new DNA makeup.

I gaped at Strucker vacantly as the guards finally grew tired waiting and pushed me down the hallway.

I walked bare-footed along with them until we came to a room full of glass cells. Almost every one had a human of some shape or form.

The slowed as we came to three cells in a row, two occupied and the other empty. As one guard opened the door, my eyes travelled to my new neighbors. The girl in the cell right next to mind looked high as a kite. She sat cross-legged on the floor, just staring up at the ceiling, her eerily blue eyes looking stark against her smeared black eyeliner. She lolled her head until her stare landed on me and I felt a frightened shiver crawl through my frame.

I quickly averted my eyes to look at the next cell. A man stood in the middle of the tiny cell, then a convulsion racked his body. He blurred out of vision momentarily and then roughly threw himself against a wall. He yelped, as if the action was involuntary. He looked up at me through the curly mess of silver hair that hung in his face for second before his form shuddered again, blurred and slammed into the opposite wall.

The guard finally opened the door and I scurried inside. They shut the door, then the guard ordered, "Place you hands inside the slot so we can take the cuffs off."

I turned and put my hands into a metallic box and a machine removed the cuffs. I rubbed my wrists and backed away as the guards departed, my eyes instantly searching for a means of escape.

Seeing nothing, I sat down on the bed in defeat, my weakened body growing tired at even the mental stimulus.

"You can blow off some steam in here, y'know," a voice erupted from the cell next to me.

I turned my head and almost cried out in shock to see the creepy girl standing right next to the glass wall that divided our cells.

I jumped up and stood warily, my whole body tense.

"Your powers have no affect on the cell or anything outside of it, but you can still use your abilities in this room. Strucker allows it so we don't get too much pent up energy," she explain in a voice that sounded eerie and way too much like Luna Lovegood from _Harry Potter_.

"How nice of him," I retorted bitterly, sinking on the mattress again.

"You have pyrokinesis, correct? That's your mutation?" the girl inquired.

"Yeah...well, at least it still_should_ be. I'm not really sure of anything anymore," I said truthfully, kneading my eyebrows with my fingers, "I'm not even sure if I'm the same person I was before. I know I certainly don't look like my old self."

"My brother and I certainly are not the same as we were before coming here, but Strucker unlocked our full potential. We could not be any more grateful," the girl said, a sappy smile gracing her lips as she flourished a hand towards the boy in the cell next to her.

I looked over as a pained groan escaped the boy as another convulsion overtook him and he slammed into the wall again, "Funny, 'grateful' isn't the vibe I'm getting from him."

"Pietro doesn't understand yet. He will though, he'll succumb. And so will you, just wait," the girl said, sitting down on her own bed, "I'm Wanda Maximoff, by the way. Pietro and I have superhuman abilities too."

"You don't say?" I snorted.

I wasn't trying to sound like a bastard, but my current situation and new identity issues made me a little cranky.

"His ability is super human speed, obviously. Mine is more of in the _magical_ persuasion," she explained, smiling emptily.

I looked at her vacantly, not catching her meaning. Without a word, Wanda spread her hand towards three metal balls that laid in a bowl on her bedside table. Without touching them, she lifted the balls from the bowl and spun them around the small cage. Then with a clench of her hands, the balls exploded in red sparks. I couldn't help but jump slightly at the abrupt and violent destruction of the spheres. My wide eyes drifted back down to Wanda and I said decidedly, "Chaos magic. My mother had similar powers. She preferred to call it manipulative probability though."

"Your mother was powerful?" inquired Wanda, her face not appearing interested despite the question.

"Unbelievably..." I said.

"But Strucker said you destroyed her, so you must be even more powerful than the rest of us," Wanda pointed out.

"Or more unfortunate..." I whispered, leaning back on the bed with exhaustion.

Wanda was suddenly at her feet, pressing her hands against the glass and glaring down at me, "Don't ever say your abilities are a misfortune! Don't you know how unique and gifted you are compared to the layman?"

"Listen," I growled, glaring back at her, "I don't know if you've been out there in the world fighting at all, but I prayed till I was blue in the face for God to strip this pestilence from me! Do you know how difficult it is to have my powers? Before I learned to control it, everything I touched set on fire! Put my shirt on for the day, it sets ablaze. Hug someone, I burn their arms. Sneeze too hard, I set our couch on fire! And when I got older, all they wanted to test me. They wanted to prod my mind to see how my 'beautiful brain' works and how I managed producing fire from my bare hands. And when I got past the lab rat stage, I fought. I fought, I murdered, and I fought some more. I've done so many despicable things in my life that I would have never had to do if I was normal. Trust me, once they let you out of your cage and HYDRA sets you on their enemies like a dog, you'll understand. You'll understand how I feel and you'll be willing to sell your soul for a normal life."

Wanda had grown very still and I noticed that Pietro had stopped his "pacing" and was gazing at me as well.

"But whatever, I'm tired. I need to rest," I said with a wave of my hand and rolled over on the bed so I faced away from my two new 'partners.'

As I laid there staring at my strange reflection in the glass. I closed my eyes, feeling my new skin ache over my muscles. My mind was uncomfortable in this new form, and it was a long time before I drifted off, despite my exhaustion.

* * *

><p>I woke up suddenly to a severe pain coursing through my brain. I sat up with a hiss, grasping my hair between my fingers as a wave of nausea hit me from by pounding head.<p>

"Good morning, Perry," a German voice called from outside the cell.

I shakily turned towards Strucker, who was staring through the glass with a smirk on his lips.

Although Strucker didn't say anything else, I had a feeling that the pain stabbing in his skull was the German's doing.

I grit my teeth as I glared at the man.

"It's time to have our discussion," Strucker ordered, "Place your hands in the slot."

I didn't like being ordered around like a dog, but with that pain-inducing chip in my mind I wasn't about to argue with him.

I stood up and stuck my hands in the metal slot, inhaling sharply when the cuffs pinched my skin in the process of closing.

'I needn't remind you that one wrong move and I can use my power to subdue you," Strucker warned, tapping his temple to indicate my chip.

"You needn't," I returned viciously as the door hissed open and I stepped out to be strong-armed by the guards who'd dropped me off the night before.

As we followed Strucker out of the room, I caught the eye of Pietro. He was leaning with his forearm braced against the glass, looking down at me with icy-blue eyes. I could read pity heavy in his expression. I shot him a confused look, but he simply shook his head and turned away.

The guards jerked me out of the room and we soon came to a small office with only a desk and a strange dentist-like chair bolted to the middle of the room's floor. I instantly recognized the contraption as the item my mother had used to wipe my mind and gain control over me.

The guards put me in and undid my cuffs only to clamp my wrists to the arms of the chair. The guards slammed down a brace against my feet, then backed away as Strucker approached.

"What are you going to do? Wipe my mind? That's _so_ original," I said sarcastically, giving Strucker a dry look.

"Don't be silly, Perry. We've done away with that method now, it's far too uncertain for total mind control. Your mother was an avid user of this chair, but from the failed attempts on Project Winter Soldier, Project Death Angel and the like, we had to discover a new means to take over one's mind more quickly and efficiently," Strucker explained, hovering over me and patted the headrest next to my ear, "As you can see, we removed the crown extension that rids you of your forefront memories."

"My mistake," I grumbled as Strucker droned on.

"You see, it seemed like with just the slightest bit of prodding from the past, subjects of this machine regained memories quickly. We can't have that. And in addition, it takes a long time to train someone when they have had their memory wiped because of their lack of trust in their handler. We needed something a little more precise, something that can control the mind without erasing it. Something that is almost possible to get rid of," explained Strucker, turning to a long, rectangular box on the desk.

I fidgeted uncomfortably in the chair, twisting to the left so I could see what Strucker was pulling out of the box.

"Mr. Perry," Strucker hummed as he produced a small, curved spear with a glowing blue orb embedded in the sharp tip, "I have appreciated your willing service for HYDRA in the past-"

"I was _m__isled_," I corrected.

"But your poor performance ever since you've spent time with those...what do they call themselves again? Oh yes, the Avengers. Ever since you spent time with the Avengers, you've left much to be desired in the loyalty department. I think you need a little friendly persuasion to clear your head and to remind you of whose side you're really on."

With one swift movement, Strucker stabbed me in the middle of the chest with the spear. It didn't pierce very deeply, but it definitely broke skin. I gasped, about to yelp in irritation at the minor pain, but my voice caught in my throat.

A strange sensation was coming over me. My ears began to buzz, my eyes darkened as if I were going to pass out. Suddenly, I felt something new push into my mind, like another entity with totally different thought processes and ambitions. I blinked and as my mind was shoved over to the side and the intruder pushed its way in. It felt like someone opening the car driver's door and nudging them over so that they could take the wheel.

Confused, I felt the real Strucker unclasp my arms and legs from the cuffs and I stood up, my vision hazy.

"You may return to your cell now," Strucker ordered.

Against my will, I felt my legs move towards the door. My whole spirit wanted to turned and burn the face off of the German bastard, but the new "driver" in my head was set on going back to the room.

I shuffled back to the room of glass cells and I passed Pietro's cage.

"Please tell me you fought it," Pietro called out to me as I passed.

I wanted to turn and answer but I kept walking until I was in my cell with the door shut after me.

"What's the matter with everyone, why can't you see what he's doing to you? Why are you so slow!?" Pietro screamed, banging the wall only to set himself off, blurring and slamming into the opposing wall.

I sat down on the bed, both feet flat on the floor and my eyes straight ahead.

"It'll become more natural once you get used to it," Wanda said to me through the glass.

I glanced at her and she was offering me a knowing smile, "So do you understand now?"

My new mind forced my body to put a sinister smile on my face and I answered in a gruff voice, "Oh, I certainly do."

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><p><strong>AN: And I promised an end note, didn't I? :) So, first, the rest of story will NOT be in 1st person. I felt though that this prologue could be best understood through the eyes of Parker. Oh, and SURPRISE, he's the one who survives, not Johnny, unfortunately. I tried to make sense of this whole seen through the perspective of Johnny and it wasn't credible. Parker surviving the last battle in Angel of Death makes a helluva lot more sense than Johnny surviving.**

**And yes, I did have Parker regenerate after practically imploding himself. I'm not a huge Doctor Who fan, so I'm not really trying to rip off that. I was more thinking in line of a phoenix. If you can picture that, it makes a lot more sense. Plus, I loved the idea of Parker coming back as almost a different person, it makes for interesting future plot points. **

**Also, if you haven't read my old stories, you wouldn't know that I always set my OCs to look like a certain actor or actress. Parker before was modeled after Taylor Kitsch, but his new regenerated form is that of Heath Ledger (I'm thinking like _10 Things I Hate About You_ Ledger not _The Dark Knight_ Ledger) For some reason the two actor's personalities seem similar to me so I felt it was appropriate. (Besides, who out there doesn't love Heath Ledger? (RIP))**

**All right! for chapter one I will be bringing some complex plot lines into play as skin-suit Parker learns his new duties as a HYDRA zombie and what their new plan to foil the Avengers is going to be! Of course, most of the Avengers will make their appearance very soon too! I'm excited and I hope you all stick around!**


	2. Learn to Breathe

**A/N:**

**WARNING: This chapter contains content that is sitting on the fence between being Rated T and Rated M. Including language, almost rape and just uncomfortable situations. **

**I had a difficult time writing this chapter because I knew I wanted to have Pietro be abused, which is IMO what would happen to him while he was jailed in the HYDRA headquarters. He's still a boy, in many ways. I can imagine that this situation would scare him more than being physically harmed by someone. So I apologize if this crosses any lines of my norm and if homo-eroticism isn't your style (it's not mine either, but whatever), proceed with caution.**

**Oh and someone asked me if I would be switching in between Pietro and Bucky. Unfortunately, no. I mainly plan to stay in Pietro and Perry's POVs just because I've been working with Bucky the past two stories and decided to give him a break :) He needs rest and I need new characters to play with :) Thanks for the reviews and I hope you continue to read this story even after this horrifying first chapter!**

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><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

Learn to Breathe

_"Won't fight you, I'm not like you, I wanna make you see what I see. Take the time to learn to the breathe because someday we're going under..."_

_-Thousand Foot Krutch_

I didn't enjoy sleeping.

My mind was always working, which made my slumber fitful and nightmare infested. At times, I would wake by a spasm in my jumpy muscles that always seemed itchy to move.

Per night, I would perhaps get a solid two hours of sleep before I would be woken up by my muscles bunching together and convulsing. I would sit up in bed and lurch forward and slam into one of the glass walls of my cell.

I wanted nothing more than to be free from this hell.

It made me angry that my sister was so easily manipulated by HYDRA. She succumbed to the power of the spear easily, where it seemed in be ineffective on me. The first time Strucker poked me in the chest with the weapon, I felt a force trying to overcome my mind, but I was too quick for that. When Strucker unlocked my full potential, he sure as hell didn't think it would backfire like this.

So, Strucker responded violently. He put a microchip in my head somewhere that practically electrocuted me every time I try to take off running at high speeds. Both Wanda and the newcomer, Perry, both had chips too but mine was more of a control mechanism rather than a precaution. I knew that if I ever dared to do anything against HYDRA's will, I'd be on the ground with my brain melted into soup.

So, here I was, a lab rat that was only allowed to freely use my powers inside of a cell barely big enough to move in. I couldn't freely stretch my legs, so I was sentenced to my body reacting viciously against my will. My muscles threatened to tear out of my legs as they shuddered in anticipation. My hands constantly trembled, as if I'd just guzzled three energy drinks in a row. Everything was annoying to me. My sister's painfully slow movements in the cell next to mine and her vague attempts to have conversations with me drove me insane. I would snap and snarl at her for no reason. My heart always slammed against my chest and my foot was always tapping, my body begging for me to release the energy that grew inside of me.

I looked up sharply when I heard soft footsteps approaching mine and my sister's cages. I stood up when I saw Perry, unaccompanied, walk by my cell in his loose-fitting clothes and bare feet. His face was relaxed and even a bit apathetic as he sauntered to his cage and opened the door and locked it behind him.

I gaped at him, anger bubbling inside me as I called out, "Please tell me you fought it..."

Perry didn't answer, he just sat down on his bed and Wanda smiled at him, "So now do you understand?"

"Oh, I certainly do," Perry responded, smiling at her dubiously.

I wanted to rip my hair out. This kid was stupid! Just like my sister!

My fingers clenched furiously as I glared at the pair of them. There was nothing I could say that could make them understand. They were under a spell that I had no power to break. And even if I possessed such a power, the chip in my head would blow my brains out through my ears if I tried anything. All I could do was watch in agony as they chose of their "own free will" to do what HYDRA said.

Wanda turned to me, and I cringed as I watched her move as if she was in slow motion.

_"Soon...you'll...under...stand...too,...Pietro..."_

I could tell from her long, drawn out words that I was about to have another "attack." I cried out as my whole body clenched, my ribs feeling like they were going to concave as the burst of energy overtook me. I flew forward involuntary, cracking my head hard against the glass and I fell to the ground, dazed.

I let go of the breath I was holding as my whole body relaxed, as if it were recovering from a body-wide charlie horse.

My eyes switched to look at Wanda, who was tracing something with her finger on the floor, unconcerned with my fall.

This wasn't the sister I used to know and love. This was a zombie, robot or something.

I didn't pick myself up off the floor, I stared at the ceiling and tried to remember a time before all this started. The farthest back I could remember was waking up in a hospital room somewhere in the HYDRA headquarters with hundreds of electrodes stuck to my head and body. Before that there was nothing. I couldn't even remember who my own parents were.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed (with super-human speed, things like time seemed to become irrelevant) when I heard some voices in the hall.

I sat up and glanced over at Wanda and Perry. They were both sound asleep...or dormant...in their bed. I snorted in derision and stood up to peer through the glass as the voices came closer.

"Just put her in the cell across from the twins," I heard Strucker's voice say, "We'll work with her and the female twin tomorrow."

I narrowed my eyes, trying to see better as a few guards wheeled a hospital bed into the room. I scowled when I saw an elderly woman lying in it, her face slack, most likely from sedation.

They pushed her into a cell and a German doctor followed them in and hooked up a heart monitor and other equipment to keep an eye on the old woman.

I recognized the doctor as one that had worked on me once before. We weren't the best of friends. Mostly because once I had tried to escape while he was working on me and I bit completely though his left ear.

The guards all filed out and finally when the doctor stepped out of the room, I mustered the courage to call out to him, "HYDRA will stop at nothing, will they? You heartless bastards are even imprisoning the elderly. What's next? Strucker probably hiring a child prostitute, I suppose."

The doctor flinched and turned his angry gaze on me. I felt bad for insinuating that, but I knew this doctor hated me anyway, so what was the point of apologizing? Or stopping, for that matter.

"Did I hit a nerve? I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't mention prostitutes around you since that's the only way you would ever get laid," I snorted, leaning casually to one side as I smirked at him.

Usually I wasn't such an asshole. But for God's sake, ever since they'd freed my powers of speed from my brain I felt like I was always being a dick.

The doctor stormed up to my cage and hissed, "Shut the hell up, Maximoff. You forget that I have the ability to lower your sedation dosage so that you will never stop hitting the walls of your little prison cell."

I pretended to still be thinking about what I had just said and I tapped an index finger against my lower lip, "Maybe it's because girls only want guys who have two ears?"

The doctor's face when red as a beet and he ordered, "Put your hands into the slot."

I rolled my eyes. This was going to be interesting.

"Make me," I said foolishly, making a face at him as if I were five years old.

I instantly regretted the words as soon as I said them. The doctor slipped his hand into his lab coat and I felt a stabbing pain go through my skull. I cried out in pain and rushed to put my hands in the slot.

The cuffs joined my wrists together and the doctor opened the door and closed it behind him.

"Now that we're alone-"

"We're in a goddamn glass cell, Doctor Dipshit, we're not alone," I kindly reminded him.

My damn nerves were making me dangerously brave.

"Lay on the bed, on your stomach," the doctor said cooly, pointing to the bed, hand still in his pocket.

"I didn't take you for a guy who does it from behind," I countered, smiling devilishly, then I feigned a look of sudden realization, "Is _THAT_ why you don't have a girlfriend?!"

The doctor was fed up with me. And if I were a normal, sane human being that didn't feel like a caged animal, I would be fed up with my sassy mouth too.

The doctor balled his fist and punched at me. The hit would have smashed right into my nose if I hadn't been a mutant. I saw the punch coming far in advance and my body moved quickly out of the way. To the doctor though, I blurred and suddenly appeared behind him. He stumbled forward and turned to look at me with hatred. He tucked his hand into his pocket again and I felt my powers becoming repressed in my mind, as they always did in Strucker's presence.

"Get on the bed!" he barked at me again and I grudgingly obeyed.

I laid on my stomach so that my cuffed arms were stretched awkwardly out in front of me.

"One move off this bed and..well..." a tingling sensation came to mind by the chip.

I winced and the doctor said, "Are we clear?"

"Crystal."

Out of the corner of my eye, he reached into his opposite pocket and pulled out a switch blade.

Instantly, I yelped, "What the hell are you doing!?"

The doctor climbed on me. He literally straddled my haunches in a way that made my ears burn in embarrassment and I prayed to God that no one would walk in on this.

He yanked my dingy shirt upwards to bare my back that had become naturally muscled, as if unlocking my powers came with a steroid injection.

I felt the man's eyes linger over my back longer than I was comfortable with. I heard him snigger, as if he knew he was making me feel scared merely by the eroticism of the situation. Terrified, I felt my eyes widen as his hands grabbed my sides, sliding his fingers downwards until they danced over the waistband at my hips.

I shook. I never felt so violated before. I knew I deserved it, from what I said to him, but I never thought he would do something so...forward.

With an anxious expression, my eyes flicked over my shoulder in desperation. Wanda still lay still in her bed, completely oblivious to my predicament.

"You talk big. but you're just a scared little kid that bulked up like his muscles were a suit he were wearing on Halloween," he murmured, slipping his fingers underneath my waistband and pulling me towards his...yeah, you get the picture.

Sweat was forming on my brow as the man leaned into, forcing himself near me as pulled his face close to the exposed skin on my back. I felt his breath tickle against my spine and I almost cried out in shock when the wet sensation of his tongue slid up from my lower back to a point between my shoulder blades.

"...And you know, the best thing about this is that you can't do a thing about it..." the doctor said.

I was frozen in horror. He wasn't just trying to intimidate me. My breath became labored as I realized this wasn't just a hoax. I felt something hard grinding into me through the fabric of my pants and I realized that this man was actually turned on by me.

"Please..." I gasped, coming to terms with the fact that I was about to get raped, "I beg your forgiveness."

"Is that so?" he panted as he moved upwards, feeling up the thick planes of my chest and the hard abs across my stomach.

"Please, get off me," I felt my voice raise an octave involuntarily as his teeth sunk caught my skin on my neck.

"Such a shame to allow such masculinity go to waste though...it'd be sad to let you go on the battlefield without being properly...christened."

His hands slid down across my ribs as he pulled away slightly. My heart pounded in my ears at the sound of a belt being undone.

Tears stung my eyes. If this was a cruel prank, the doctor could stop now. He had successfully scared the shit out of me.

But it wasn't a prank. I felt his feverish hands fiddle with my trousers, a grunt escaping him as he finally undid the button and began to edge the waistband down.

"What in God's name is going on here?!" a voice call out from outside the cell.

I twisted around and I was never more relieved to see Strucker standing there, severe expression and all.

Strangely, the doctor didn't seem alarmed by the fact that Strucker had caught him in the act.

"The kid was needed servicing, so I was just doing my duty as a doctor and helping him out," chuckled the doctor, sounding far too pleased with himself.

"Like hell!" I snarled at him, my voice not sounding as fierce as I wanted it to.

"Please," Strucker sounded extremely exasperated, "Dismount the mutant and come out of the cell."

The doctor got off me with a dissatisfied huff and walked out of the cell. I sat up, watching as Strucker gazed at the doctor for a moment before speaking, "Doctor Hobbes, do you know what that boy is?"

"He's a mutant," answered the doctor simply.

"True, but what is he other than that?"

The doctor didn't reply.

"That boy is a HYDRA weapon. He's only to be...tampered...with when it serves for bettering him on the course of assisting HYDRA. He's not here for your amusement. He's not your sex doll. He's a weapon," Strucker said evenly.

The doctor shuffled a bit, looking off to the side.

Suddenly, Strucker yanked a gun out that I hadn't noticed before, aimed it at the doctor's head and fired. Blood spattered all over the glass wall, inhibiting my view of outside.

I stared at the blood, completely dazed. I'd almost been raped and I witnessed a murder all in ten minutes. Even my quick brain couldn't process this madness at a fast pace.

"Don't mistake this action as my protection, Maximoff," I heard Strucker say to me.

"What is this then?"

"Cleansing..." he said, moving to a part of the glass where he could easily see me, "And if you don't start moving forward with a level, obedient head, that'll be your blood decorating the wall."

"Why are you making seem like it was my fault? I couldn't do anything! He had me trapped!" I countered.

"I know he would have ignored you if you hadn't provoked him. This wasn't one-sided. You just got lucky that you happened not to be the doctor that I could replace at the drop of a hat. But test me again, and I swear I will end you."

"Yeah right. You couldn't get anywhere with the Avengers without me," my fear was wavering and I felt my courage returning, "You couldn't have saved Mr. Ring of Fire over there without me!"

"Don't make the mistake of thinking you're the star of this show. You're just a benefit. We have Hellfire now. He and Wanda are our keys in," Strucker growled at me.

"Hellfire saved the Avengers, so they trust him. But how is Wanda a key?" I asked, growing slightly concerned for my sister.

Strucker turned slightly and looked over to where the old woman was being kept.

"Let's just say our mind-bonding studies are going well and Mrs. Carter over there is going to be a dear and help us out with the final test stage of the experiments," Strucker responded, then turned without another word and walked away.

I hadn't a clue who that old lady, Missus Carter, was but I know I didn't like the sound of mind-bonding.

I sat down and stared ahead as a cleaning crew dragged Doctor Hobbes away and cleaned the floor and wall of the blood. I gazed at the dead man's open eyes until they put a blanket over him. I knew that I didn't want to help HYDRA, but I had no choice in the matter. But whatever was going to happen, I wished it would happen soon. I needed to be free and get away from the lunatics like Doctor Hobbes who crawled around the headquarters.

With a glance at Wanda, who had not stirred from her spot on the bed, I shivered as a tremor threatened to throw my body around the room again

My poor sister was so blind to what was going on around her. I couldn't even imagine the pain she would have to go through because of her foolish trust in HYDRA.

_Mind-bonding..._

I could only wonder at what horrors Strucker had in store for the three of us.


	3. Born Tragic

**A/N: Sorry, kids, I haven't updated in a long time! I must apologize, my classes and job are taking up all my time but I did have a lovely few days off and thought it would be nice to update on Blind Dash.**

**The funny part about this story is that it isn't getting a lot of traffic, but Iron Heart has been getting favorited like crazy, so at least it's been doing something! Honestly, Iron Heart is my favorite out of these stories, so I really can't blame the readers.**

**Enjoy this next, sadly short, chapter. Hopefully I will be switching to an Avenger's point of view next chapter now that I have everything set up here *rubs hands together and laughs maniacally***

* * *

><p>Born Tragic<p>

_"Some people are just born with tragedy in their blood..." -_from Donnie Darko

I paced nervously the next morning, apprehensively staring at the old 'Mrs. Carter' as I moved back and forth between close walls of my cell.

I feared that they planned on somehow bonding this lady's mind to my unsuspecting, brain-washed sister's body. What I couldn't figure out was how it would matter to their ultimate plan. What significance was this Mrs. Carter?

My uneasy steps faltered as I unexpectedly shuddered, my body flying involuntarily into the opposite wall as one of my bursts of energy overtook me. Disgruntled, I righted myself and my eyes locked on Wanda's sleeping form in the cage next to mine.

She looked so peaceful, her mind obviously hadn't a clue of how much danger she was in and how much chaos would ensue once HYDRA unleashed her fully.

I tensed as I heard footsteps once again, looking over my shoulder to see Strucker and his men striding purposefully into the room. At Strucker's side was a man who wore a doctor's coat. I rolled my eyes and listened attentively to their conversation.

"Rouse the female Maximoff as we prepare Carter," Strucker ordered two of his guards.

They obediently split off from their leader and walked directly to Wanda's cell. I glanced over and jumped slightly to see her awake and standing expectantly at the door.

"Wanda..." I breathed, my tone sounding more pleading than trying to call her attention to me.

She ignored my call and stepped out of the cell as the guards opened the door.

"Wanda! No! They'll hurt-" My voice was cut off with a cry of agony as a white-hot pain flashed through my whole body.

I collapsed to the floor of my cell, my body stiffening as the pain seared, then faded. Panting, I lay on the floor and I looked out the glass. To my surprise, Wanda was smiling down at me, "You're so foolish, Pietro. You deserve that pain you're experiencing."

Did she inflict this pain on me? Had they given her the device that set off the agonizing flare in my body? Or had Strucker seen my interference?

I stared up at her, feeling betrayed and shocked. She give me a blank look in return, then turned on her heel.

"You're the fool, Wanda," I said carefully, shakily standing up again.

I hadn't a clue if she heard me, since she paid my words no heed. She followed the guards out of the room as the doctor wheeled Mrs. Carter out after them.

I gaped after them, then my eyes flicked over to Strucker, who had appeared at my door, icy stare on me.

"You're breaking," he said to me simply.

"You wish," I snarled at him, standing tensely as I returned his glare.

"You've resorted to giving up on your sister. You're saying that she is the fool instead of her being merely lead astray. You've given up on her," Strucker pointed out, crossing his arms as he visually assessed me.

I audibly growled at him, punching the glass with my fist. I knew it wouldn't do any good, but I yelled at him, "Let me out of here!"

"You wish to see your sister's procedure?" Strucker asked in mock-confusion.

"What? No, I-"

"By all means, I'd be delighted that you watch the procedure. It'll no doubt be very fascinating," Strucker said with a sinister grin as he came up to my cage.

He eyed the slot, indicating he wished me to put my hands in there. Knowing the pain that would ensue if I didn't obey, I quickly walked up to put my hands in the slot. Once my cuffs were on, the door slid open and I stepped out, almost recoiling at Strucker's cold hand at my elbow as he guided me out of the room.

"I bet you're wondering what mind-bonding is," he hummed in sickening delight.

I glared forward, not giving him the satisfaction of acknowledgement.

He continued on as if I'd been interested in his question, "We have a tool that can play with subject's minds. And we are slowly starting to understand how it functions, especially with linking a mind to another's. It's the same concept as mind control, but we can physically attach a dying spirit to another's body. How does that come into play with Wanda and Mrs. Carter? Well, Carter is on the verge of death, so we simply are going to attach her soul to your sister's."

"That's disgusting! You're going to pull her mind out and stuff something else in?"

"Mrs. Carter was Steve Rogers's lover back during World War 2. We will recreate her through your sister. She'll have the same personality quirks, voice patterns, and ambitions as Peggy Carter but still have the current mind of HYDRA and her abilities so that she'll strike Rogers when he is at his most vulnerable."

"Steve Rogers?"

"Captain America," answered Strucker, "The most level-headed member of the Avengers. Years ago, he was the Winter Soldier's comrade and unfortunately was able to bring the subject out of his mind repression and convince him to join The Avengers."

My gaze dropped to my feet as he lead me down the hall. I remembered the Winter Soldier. I remember Strucker's anger when a man named Pierce had failed to force the glassy-eyed master assassin with the metal arm to defeat the group known as The Avengers. The Winter Soldier had somehow separated from HYDRA and Strucker had claimed that he 'went rogue,' which in reality meant that the Soldier found freedom.

We walked together in silence until we came to a room that overlooked a surgery room. I froze when I saw my sister laying on a bed next to Peggy Carter, both of them hooked up to an IV machine, and both appeared to be heavily drugged.

"They'll remain in this subconscious state until we're prepared to penetrate their minds," Strucker said as he placed his arms behind his back, watching as if this were a movie instead of human testing.

I was helpless. Here I stood, a man with thick muscles, a sharp mind and a body that could literally run speeds up to Mach 10 and I couldn't do anything. If I tried to fight in Strucker's presence, my brain would be fried.

I gulped down my fear and watched apprehensively as the doctor below prepared for the procedure.

"You're nothing like your sister. We never expected you to be so...resistant."

"I guess that makes me stronger than her," I hissed in return, eyeing him dangerously.

"You're a wilder version of your sister. You're like a mustang that is tough to break, but even wild horses can only take so much. You'll break soon enough. When people are falling dead at your hands against your will, or when you watch your sister cut down these "heroes," or when you find that you've become something unlovable, having done unforgivable deeds...you will break."

My body longed to run away from the man's harsh words. My body shuddered and blurred without my mental consent as my flight instinct kicked in.

"You can't run or hide from this. It will be your undoing or you will die. And you will choose to be unmade...they all do," Strucker whispered as reached over and chained my cuffs to a metal loop that was screwed to the wall.

"Wait, what are you-" I started, but Strucker cut me off.

"If you manage to free yourself, don't even think to make a move to escape this room. The door has a sensor above it that will activate when I leave. You'll be dead if you pass under this door frame," Strucker said in a sickening, kind tone as he pushed the door open and disappeared. I looked out the window and saw all the medics had left the room, leaving Wanda and Carter lying there, electrodes placed on their heads with cords leading to a glowing blue staff that sat in between their beds.

Suddenly the blue orb in the center of the scepter began to brighten, glowing so brightly that I was forced to turn my face away.

"No!" I growled pulling my hands desperately against the wall. I looked down at my chained wrists and thought for a moment, wondering how I could use my powers to free myself. Strucker was gone, so my quick mind was no longer supressed. I started rotating my wrists, wiggling them back and forth. The movement became faster and faster until all I could no longer see anything but blurs where my hands should have been. The cuffs rattled violently until the movement became too much and it snapped from the wall.

I honestly didn't know where I was going with this, I'd freed my arms but I was still stuck in this room. I scowled and looked around, remembering that Strucker said that there was a sensor on the door. My eyes rested on the window and a smile quirked my lips. I backed up on the wall opposite of the large window holding my metal cuffs out in front of me like a battering ram. I leaned down and assumed the position like a runner would at a mark in the start of a race.

With a deep breath, I shot forward, hearing a loud crack of speed as I zoomed into the window, the velocity and metal cuff wrapped around my hand shattering the helpless window like a dropped ceramic plate.

I tumbled through the broken glass , but quickly righted myself in midair and somehow landed on my feet in the surgery room. I spun on my heel and spotted the spear, which was humming loudly and glowing as bright as it was before. I set my jaw and was about to lunge for it, when a doctor stepped into the room and shouted, "No, don't! If you pull them out of transferal now, their minds will be irreparably damaged!"

I hesitated for only a moment before turning to snarl, "Wanda would be better off a vegetable than being a pawn of evil."

I reached out to grasp the spear, ready to yank it away from the cords that attached to Wanda's brow, but suddenly a searing pain ripped through my mind. I yelped in pain, recoiled and fell to my knees on the tiled floor.

"Not a step farther, Pietro!" I heard Strucker's voice boom from the doorway.

My watering eyes veered over to look at his pinched face, red with anger. I bared my teeth and lunged at him rather like an animal, arms outstretched to put a choke hold around his wiry neck.

"Halt!" he put a hand out in front of him and I felt my brain freeze.

I fell to the floor again, my body completely limp. My useless eyes stared forward, barely able to see him as he leaned over me.

"I've had just about enough of you, Maximoff! You're foolish, reckless and always an obstacle I have to overcome. I will warn you once more. If you so much as step a foot out of line, you will be tortured mercilessly. You think your lack of excercise is bad now, I will not give you an ounce of freedom, not even in the cell. You will be strapped to a chair, doped up on suppressant constantly. And when I've had a bad day, I will come down and visit you and take my anger out on you. But when you are on the brink of death, I'll let you get back up to average health so we can start all over again. But even as you heal, you still will not be freed from pain. I'll bring your sister down to the bed beside you and have you watch as I torture her. See, once she does what I need her to, she will be useless to me, so I will have no problem with making her suffer. Do you understand? Your life will be so horrible, you will beg for me to kill you so you can escape from me!"

I blinked in terror as Strucker grabbed my jaw with his gloved hand, forcing me to look into his eyes, "Don't ever make the mistake of thinking your actions have no meaning because death will bring you freedom. I never planned on killing you if you didn't serve me. Your Hell will remain on earth."

He threw my head backwards with a loud crack, and I hazily gazed upwards.

"Stupid bastard," Strucker hissed and another explosion of pain erupted from the microchip implant. If I had use of my body, I would have screamed. Instead my vision blackened and I faded from the conscious world.


End file.
